I have only one thing to say they are weird those NK poor people they can't even go to the beach what a sad country and they want to start a war
against the world? there will be nothing left of them maybe it is for the best because I could not live like that.

Originally posted by SeventhSeal
The west has nothing to do with how the North became a Communist country. If these ATS members knew their history, they should be blaming the USSR.

Actually it was the west that split Korea at the 38th, Korea was occupied by Japan prior to that, the west did little to assist until Japan provoked
the west... China and Korea had been helping one another fight the Japanese long before any western force considered them a threat.

All the concern about DPRK manufacturing nuclear weapons is unfounded, use of them for anything but defence would result in total annihilation so it
is most likely they would just sit there forever as a deterent... did you ever stop to think about the fact that the US considered using nuclear
weapons against Korea in order to get the occupying Japanese out?
IMHO Kim Jong Ill has good reason to be concerned about defending against the only country that has ever fired a nuclear weapon in anger, and after
doing so did not hesitate to drop a second and promised to rain down 1 a day until Japan surrendered or glowed in the dark!

Looking at the pictures and commentary North Korea looks a lot like most other so called third world countries, it especially reminds me of many of
the semi-rural and manufacturing areas of China... it is sad that they had to fortify their country with tank traps and electric fences but I would be
quite certain that they are to keep others out more than keeping their own people in... the way they laid out the tank traps is quite novel though,
very simple, not unattractive but functional.

And as for the lack of cell phone access and internet this is likely caused by the embargoes, not the DPRK, the very little internet and cell phone
access they have would probably be provided through china.

I find it amusing that the locals sell the "international aid" back to tourists, nice way to get your hands on some of the almighty US currency and
circumvent the embargoes... why anyone would think it is reasonable to be providing potato chips and sprite as international aid needs their head
examined anyway.

Anyway, I will leave it here, I'm sure you guys don't want my views and beliefs pushed upon you anymore than North Korea wants those of the west
pushed upon them.

the strange thing is that it doesnt look nearly as bad as what you would be led to believe. it almost looks like paradise compared to the
pictures someone had up of india the other week, where people were swimming with rotten corpses.

That's normal with dictatorships. The ugly stuff is kept hidden, out of the way, so that the Big Boss isn't embarrassed by people seeing it.
Haven't you ever heard the old cliché about Mussolini getting the trains to run on time?

India is a mess, but it's a free country. One, incidentally, I have visited often and find fascinating, despite the crowds, the poverty, the
inequality and the filth. I don't think I'd want to visit North Korea. Certainly not for more than a few days.

I am in China but I am not Chinese. I have been living here for 5 years now and through this and my job i have been exposed more than the average
Chinese or expat for that matter by this subject and in particular to how it is regarded here.

I think we can all learn from this so I will share it.

Please look as I do with compassion to the people of north korea. Do not hate them or try to fix evil intentions to them to justify a simplified
position in simply having an opinion. These people are opressed, they are ruled by a dictatorship noone supports but the few henchmen holding them in
power that surround them.

North Koreans deserve to be freed from all this and surely almost all hunger for this.

In a large part, I feel that the crux of the matter, the reason this is and has been going on for so long is for the simple fact that the USA is
involved. Involved and present. The Chinese will never allow a situation to occur where americans march to their borders and this has been the prime
reason for continued support by China not to let NK fall or be provoked in a war with the same result.

Like on other places in the world, conflict is maintained, people suffer, because America is persuing an agenda of constant expansion of military
presence, pressurizing other countries to react in ways to justify that agenda further.

Why, could one ask, do the americans just not go home? I think the answer is obvious to all that see and hear.

I love the old equiptment the cars trucks trolly's time perserved, in the tourist areas there serene clean, like apocalypse happened where's the
people lol Like going to old abondoned towns erie like, than when you see behind the scene pictures the hidden people you understand why. Be nice if
the whole country was like the tourist area well looked after and maintained. 4th world government

Originally posted by detachedindividual
Amazing pictures. It's a shame they won't rise up against their dictators like other nations are right now.

It's such a beautiful country. Such a shame that it's being stolen from the rest of the world, and from its own people.

Well hell you better get the rest of your american buddies and jump in there quick smart !!!! it's about time they had american ideals shoved down
their throats like iraq and afghanistan...

You know, it just really gets to me when people say things like this, and they seem to have NO idea what they're talking about. If you look at these
pictures and you see a beautiful country with happy people, you must be deaf and blind. I'm not saying we should get in there and take over, but I do
feel that the people of North Korea need to stand up for themselves, rush Kim Jong Il's palace, and put him in a jail cell deep underground where
he'll never see the light of day again. That goes for all his conspirators as well. You really think this is such a paradise to live in? If it was,
you think they'd need to have barbed wire fences around the beach to keep people from escaping? Why would they ever want to escape THAT paradise?

If you've ever talked to a North Korean or ever heard a North Korean speak about their experience in North Korea before they escaped, you'd know
that these people are highly oppressed, underfed, and expect to worship Kim Jong Il like a God. At any sign of disobedience they are sent to labor
camps where they are forced to work 18 hour days with minimal amount of food. Some decide to hunt mice to keep themselves alive, that's how bad it
is. If they are lucky enough to escape to China, they can't expose themselves to the Chinese public, because the Chinese round up North Koreans and
send them back to North Korea, or a select few Chinese criminals will take in the North Koreans and sell them on the sex slave market.. Yeah, it sure
sounds like a charmed life! What happens to those who are sent back? They're shot almost immediately, if they're lucky.

If you've never lived under the Communist regime, you don't know what the HELL you're talking about. My family escaped from such a regime, and in
our country it was only half as bad as North Korea. I can't imagine what those people must be going through. They are brainwashed, they are told lies
on a daily basis, they are abused by their government, and they are kept in eternal poverty by this little prick, Kim Jong Il. How any of the world
leaders can go over there to meet with him and NOT strangle him from behind the table is beyond me. It really is. I get so angry just thinking about
it. Please, do me a favor and stop defending the North Korean Government. The people who live there are devastated, and if they knew what was going on
outside their borders, they would surely string up Kim Jong Il on the nearess light pole or branch. Unfortunately they are so incredibly isolated from
the rest of the world, that most of them will die believing that everyone in the world lives in such a poverty, starving to death.

Go watch a documentary called "KimjongIlia" it's available on Netflix to watch instantly. There are other documentaries about North Korea. There
are also videos on Youtube of North Koreans speaking out about their experiences and how they escaped. That should teach you some truth.

It's a shame that you jump on the same bandwagon of assumption you're so desperately trying to portray with this ridiculous post.

It is not YOUR nor MY place to tell these people how to live. Remember, your idea of "freedom" is quite different to a whole lot of other people.

I have lived in a democracy, and also spent 7 years in a city called Yangquan, in Shanxi province, China, working in the mines of the Cangshan
mountains. Don't be so quick to assume everyone who lives under a dictatorship is oppressed, distressed and living a life of peril.
This place was absolutely amazing, the friendliest people I've ever met in my life on top of a TON of work for those who were willing to get their
hands dirty.

I know people who live in New Zealand who have to hunt rats/mice/birds to stay alive. Just because you hear a few horror stories from some people from
a certain region, doesn't make the WHOLE PLACE like that. You need to open your mind to reality and quit painting a whole country with the same
brush.

The point I am trying to make here is that every country has its wrongs, its rights, its benefits and its drawbacks. It is people like you who promote
the "uprising" of a generally content country, who need to find out some truths before you speak.

Do a bit research, and quit being so one-sided. I think you'll find half the things you complain about happen frequently in your own country.

Originally posted by onehuman
I thought that I should add this as well.

The author is Artemii Lebedev, one of the leading web-designers in Russia. He recently went on a trip to DPRK

I don't know how long the link to the photos will remain up so try and catch them while you can.

I saw this photo essay years ago on a different message board (Militaryphotos.net). Though when I last saw it, I also got to read a lot of the
Russian's comments which were way more interesting then in the OP article.

Thank you very much for posting this link , it was incredibly interesting to look at the pictures and realize how lucky we are in allot of ways ,
barbwire fences at beaches crazy stuff when you think about it .

South Korea also has beaches with barbed wire, as does Vietnam. I might be wrong but I also think there are some beaches in Japan that also have
barbed wire. So, not really as unusual as you think, in Asia anyway.

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